An all-star cast of Emmy award-winner Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Stephen Lang, Sarah Gadon, and comedian Jeff Dunham have signed on to lend their voices for the animated comedy feature The Nut Job, directed by Peter Lepeniotis for ToonBox Entertainment and Redrover Co., Ltd. Based on the 2005 award-winning comedy short film Surly Squirrel by Disney animation veteran Lepeniotis, The Nut Job marks the Canadian-based ToonBox’s first feature film with Korean partner Redrover, in association with Gulfstream Pictures, which is handling U.S. sales.

Fully financed by Redrover and its partners, the film is currently in production with plans for a 2013 release. Additional cast will be announced shortly.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the cast that’s being assembled for our first feature,” said Chapman, ToonBox vice president. “They have brought the film to a whole new level. Each voice is perfect for their respective roles, and they truly make the characters come alive.”

Written by veteran Disney animation screenwriter and Canadian Lorne Cameron (Brother Bear, Over the Hedge), The Nut Job isan action-packed comedy grounded in the late 1950s in fictional Oakton that follows the travails of Surly, a mischievous squirrel, and his rat friend Buddy, who plan a nut store heist of outrageous proportions and unwittingly find themselves embroiled in a much more complicated and hilarious adventure.